Milk painted chest

I built this with the help of my 4 year old, Madeline. She helped saw dovetails, and also helped during the glue-up. It is her toy box, and (I hope) later to be her “off to Stanford U” box. I wish I could find good looking soft-close lid hardware. Everything available I can find is plastic and not at all appropriate for fine furniture. Though the lid is not very heavy (it’s of southern yellow pine – as is the rest of the box), I still fear for pinched fingers.The carcase is dovetailed and it has a frame and panel lid. I did a dovetail/miter joint on the lower skirt, which was a first for me. The purpose was to avoid end-grain during shaping of the skirt. I’d hoped to do something with an old 1/2 set of hollow and rounds, but couldn’t get them tuned up in time. Ended up with a simple chamfer. I can say without hesitation that this is the favorite item I’ve made so far. Milk paint rocks. One layer of lamp black under two of brickhouse red, then oiled and waxed. Made a few interior boxes as well of cherry. I’d like to build more of these if I ever find the time.By the way, southern yellow pine works beautifully by hand. I can’t wait to use this stuff again – perhaps dresser drawers…

The chest looks really nice. I love the look of the milk paint. Did you find the oil changed the color of the paint much? What type of oil did you use? You have probably seen theese, but rockler has a nice looking torsion hinge. They don’t look like they are made of plastic, but I’ve never actually used them either.

bonobo- those Blum inserts look perfect! Thanks for the recommendation! borsch; the oil softened the color a bit. I used a furniture oil I get from a local furniture maker here in Portland, they call it joinery oil and I’m not at all sure what’s in it but it smells like citrus. Good stuff! Those Rockler hinges look like a great possibility for my next chest. Thanks for the recommendation!

I think I may be linking to the same thing horsch recommended. I used these on a blanket chest and they are great. A little pricey and you need to figure out the approximate wight of the lid but no worries about smashed fingers.

The chest came out great, I am sure she will get long use out of it! I recently completed a chest and used a lid support from Home Depot, works well and has adjustable tension. Cheap, effective and readily available ;-)